Teams announced for Utd’s return to Champions League
The reds have discovered their opponents in the European Champions League draw which took place in Monaco.
36 sides will fight it out to finish in the spots to allow them progress to the knock-out stages. The top eight will automatically qualify for the last 16, whilst places 16 to 24 will play-off against one another to join them. Any team below will exit altogether.
It sees us paired with eight teams in the extended group stage format. It features home fixtures against Bayern Munich, Roma, RB Leipzig and Sabah. We travel to take on Atletico Madrid, Sporting Club, Villareal, and Como.
Some are more familiar names than others. When Bayern is mentioned, fans will always recall the Champions League final of 1999. They have had the upper hand on us in 2001, 2012 and 2014 though. We also lost to them twice in our last Champions League appearance in 2023/24.
Games versus Villarreal have been extremely tight when we have faced them. In six group games, there had only been four goals. One of these was during Carrick’s previous interim reign. Our most recent clash will still bring up bad memories. We went all the way to penalties in Europa League Final in 2020/21. David De Gea was the unlucky player to miss in a 12-11 loss.
Our record against Atletico is not as extensive, but we do have a poor record against them. The Spaniards knocked us out when holders of the Cup Winners Cup in 91/92. They also eliminated us from the Champions League in 2021/22.
Roma will bring back good memories for Michael Carrick. He scored twice in a 7-1 win at Old Trafford in 2006/07. He also featured when knocking out them out en route to the big trophy the following season. The most recent encounter with them saw us knock them out of the Europa League Semi-Finals in 2020/21.
Sporting Club bring associations with players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Bruno Fernandes. We travelled to the Portuguese capital back in 1963/64 holding a 4-1 lead. A nightmare evening saw us battered 5-0. We also faced them in the Group Stages in 2007/08. Ronaldo scored in both games against his former club.
We have only faced RB Leipzig twice previously. Marcus Rashford netted a hat-trick in a 5-0 win at Old Trafford. A poor display in the return game saw us eliminated before the knock-outs.
We have never played either Como or Sabah before. Both are making their debuts in the competition. There will be a familiar face with the former side though. Cesc Fabregas was linked to us at Barcelona in between his spells at Arsenal and Chelsea. Hopefully pizza will be off the menu.
Our first fixture is on Thursday 10th of September against Sabah. It will complete on 20th of January against Bayern.
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